


Lost Girl

by NerdyKat



Series: I'll Meet You Here with Words on my Skin and Love in my Heart [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Agents of SHIELD Season 1 Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, F/F, Parent Melinda May, Parent Phil Coulson, Phil Coulson & Melinda May are Skye's Parents, Threats of Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 09:38:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14615496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyKat/pseuds/NerdyKat
Summary: Skye crashed a car to get to Lloyd Rathman. What if she'd been hurt?Because she's hurt, she finds her parents. Because she finds her parents, she's at the Triskellion during HYDRA's attack. And that changes a heck of a lot.A soulmate AU





	Lost Girl

Coulson was missing. Kicked off the Bus, Skye had stolen a car and realized the only way to accomplish what she needed to was to crash the SUV and use OnStar to get back to Lloyd Rathman’s house.  She had anticipated that the car accident was going to hurt, she hadn’t anticipated how much. But she took a breath and channeled May and got the job done. It wasn’t until she stood up after bending over Coulson that she really felt every inch of what she’d put her body through during the mission. 

May started to say something, and Skye twisted to pay attention, then felt a white-hot pain in her side. Without knowing how she got there, Skye was lying on the ground, gasping for breath while May was shouting for Jemma. Jemma came over, but Skye as only catching every fifth word, so all she could figure out was that something was broken (which, frankly, Skye knew on her own). 

Skye saw Jemma produce a knife and Skye panicked, trying to move away. Jemma said something (Skye was having trouble focusing on anything other than the pain), and she felt hands holding her shoulders and feet down.

In one fluid motion, Jemma cut Skye deep into her side and inserted something that felt strange. There was a gush of air and Skye coughed hard as the world came back to her. She blinked and May, Jemma, and Ward were standing over her, looking concerned.

“Ow,” Skye whimpered.

“Damn, Rookie, when’d you break your ribs?” Ward asked.

“Car accident,” Skye said painfully. “Chasing down Rathman.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Jemma said, shocked.

Skye shrugged. She tried getting up but May stopped her. “You still have a tube in your chest, Skye. You’ll need surgery. Just wait here a second and we'll get the stretcher.”

Skye didn’t understand a word May said, so tried to get up, starting to feel panicked. Why couldn’t she hear anything and why was it so damn cold. She blinked and she was suddenly in a soft bed, she was warm, and based on how she felt, drugged to high heaven.

She tried to move, but found her wrists had been put in soft wraps secured to the bed. “You kept trying to pull out your IV,” came a voice. 

She jumped, then looked around to see Coulson sitting there looking… odd. “I… sorry,” she said, registering his words. “I tend to do that on anesthesia.”

“You’re gonna have to stay in bed for a couple of days. You just had surgery,” Coulson said, looking odder still, he came close to Skye and released her hands from the restraints.

“I … what?” Skye asked. The drugs must be confusing her. She didn’t know what Coulson was talking about.

“You broke your ribs tracking me down,” Coulson noted quietly.

Skye looked away for a moment. “Right… well… Ward said agents sometimes get injured.” she asked quietly.

“But you’re not an agent,” Coulson yelled. “You have to be more careful! You have to...”

“What the hell happened?” Skye asked. “You act like this is the first time I’ve broken my ribs. Or the first time I’ve needed surgery. What does breaking a rib change?”

“It changes… it changes everything,” Coulson said thickly. He raised his hand towards her face and Skye, exhausted, drugged, and unsure of what was happening, flinched backwards. Coulson paled and Skye was shocked to see tears in his eyes. “Skye, we ran your DNA and... you’re my daughter.”

Skye stared at Coulson, motionless, for a full two heartbeats, then completely freaked out. “No,” she said forcefully. “No, no, no, no.” She got off the bed, pulling her IV line out and ran as fast as she could out the door. Electrical cords were pulled out of a machine and dangled from her chest. She didn’t register running past May, FitzSimmons, and Ward. She didn’t register everyone yelling at her. She just wanted out of the nightmare she’d woken up to. 

When she finally stopped, every inch of her aching, she found herself in a gym, somewhere well-below where she’d started. She collapsed into a heap, pulling her knees to her chest and sobbing. 

“You okay there?” came a voice. It only made her sob harder. Generic soulwords. A father who was impossible to hate… The owner of the voice, a female, was coming slowly towards her, the large male she’d been sparring with came with her. The female knelt down to her level. “Are you lost? Do you need me to call someone?” she asked gently, looking down at the hospital gown Skye still wore. When Skye didn't respond, the woman started to stand up. 

“Please, I don’t want them to find me here,” Skye blurted out.

The woman froze. “You…” The woman put out a hand and very carefully projected her movements until Skye, still crying, allowed her to stroke her hair. Within moments, Skye was in her soulmate’s lap, despite the fact that she was a virtual stranger. Immediately, Skye calmed down. “Now, can you tell me what has you so scared?” The woman asked after a few moments in silence.

“I’m not,” Skye protested. She looked up for the first time, registering that the lap she was in was Natasha Romanov’s. “Holy shit,” Skye breathed, staring.

“I think you broke her, Nat,” came an amused voice. Skye looked up and saw that Captain Freaking America was standing there. Given that she hadn’t really slept in days, not counting passing out from pain or being medicated, Skye was tempted to think that she was hallucinating.

“I just… found out who my father was,” Skye said softly.

“Didn’t go well?” Natasha asked. 

Skye shook her head. “It’s not that… it’s just… I’m an orphan. I was an orphan. I’ve always... I’ve always hated my parents for abandoning me. But my father - my dad… he’s impossible to hate.”

“Good guy?” Natasha asked.

“The best,” Skye agreed softly.

“So why the hospital garb?” Natasha asked.

“I… uh… I just had surgery,” Skye said, feeling the incision through the gauze. “I broke a rib on a mission. It punctured something I think. It’s all kinda… fuzzy.”

“Which means your escape has probably sent the entire medical department on a lockdown,” Natasha noted. “We should get you back.”

Skye hesitated. “I don’t think I can get up,” she admitted.

“Steve?” Nat asked. 

Steve picked her up very carefully and easily while the fatigue and pain started to affect Skye. She felt him walking, then they were in an elevator. When the doors opened, Skye heard people running around sounding panicked. 

“Skye!” she heard Jemma explain. “Oh thank god you found her. This way please. Is she okay?” 

They rounded a corner and both Natasha and Steve froze. Steve shifted and Skye whimpered in pain. “Skye!” May exclaimed, sounding uncharacteristically worried. “Thank God you found her. Let’s get her back to bed.” May put a hand on Skye’s forehead and Skye stared at her. “Why did you run off?” May lectured. “You scared the hell out of us.”

Skye didn’t have the words to explain, but it became unnecessary. Coulson barreled out of the hospital room and Nat and Steve froze at the sight of the man who had come back from the dead, and almost instantly. Everyone was suddenly talking at once. Feeling the panic practically rolling off of every member of her team, Skye began to have a panic attack. It was too much all at once. 

“What the hell is going on!” came another female voice. Everyone stopped talking. Skye could see Fury with a woman near the elevators. 

“Rogers, put her back in her room so the doctors can check over her,” Fury said. Natasha followed Steve in.

“Romanov?” Fury snapped. 

“She’s my soulmate,” Natasha explained.

Fury closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, then groaned. “Everyone in the conference room now.”

Steve shut the door as he left the room, muffling the noise. After a doctor checked Skye over, Skye was left alone for the first time since finding out Coulson was her father. She stared up at the ceiling, deep in thought. Coulson was her father. Natasha Romanoff was her soulmate. She'd just been carried back to medical by her childhood hero. The world didn't work like this. The universe had been against her all her life. Why would things work out now? A nurse came in and administered medication into her newly connected IV, and within moments, Skye fell asleep again.

\------

The conference room was in chaos. Natasha itched to return to her soulmate’s side, but she knew Fury would want her to stay and explain what had just occurred. The juniors had been left outside, Fury clearly not trusting them.

Steve, however, got the first word in. “So Coulson’s alive,” he said to Hill and Fury. “You lied.”

Coulson paled at this. “For the record, they lied to me too,” he noted. “I wouldn't mind an explanation.”

“You can’t avoid telling them forever, Nick,” Hill noted quietly.

“And don’t feed them the line you told everyone else about it being eight seconds,” Coulson said coldly. “I remember being brought back.”

Nick Fury sighed heavily as Natasha and Steve processed this information. “There was an experimental procedure,” he said carefully. “A drug that could literally cure any wound or disease. We were going to use it… in the event of a fallen Avenger.” Natasha and Steve exchanged a glance, but said nothing. “When Coulson died… I needed him… for what was coming - for what is coming. So I ordered my team to give him the cure.” Coulson was looking extremely conflicted by this. He looked like he had something to say but for some reason wasn’t. “Not everyone at SHIELD knows Coulson died. Not everyone of those people know that Coulson’s alive again. We’ve tried to keep the intel as contained as possible.

“You ordered him not to tell anyone he wasn’t dead,” Steve concluded judgmentally. “Not even his friends.”

“Complicated doesn’t even begin to describe the situation I’m in,” Fury snapped. “You don’t have the intel that I do. You don’t run SHIELD. If circumstances hadn’t caused all this to happen, we wouldn’t be here and you’d be none-the-wiser that Coulson was alive. What needs addressing is what just occurred with your consultant.”

“How do you know anything about that?” Coulson asked. 

“Because while your biochemist’s search returned partial results for yourself and Agent May, Alexandra’s DNA is still on SHIELD’s missing persons database, redacted Level 10,” Fury explained.

“Alexandra?” Natasha asked, speaking for the first time. “She said her name was Skye.”

“She was born Alexandra Coulson,” Coulson said, his voice full of loss and pain. “She’s been missing since 1988. Clint… Clint knows about her, but not many other people at SHIELD do.”

“She said she ran away from the System at 16,” May said softly. “That she was running from something.”

“I think only Skye has answers to why that happened,” Natasha said.

“You said you were her soulmate?” Fury asked. “What happened?”

Natasha sighed. “She burst into the gym Rogers and I were training in. She seemed…” she looked at Coulson, who looked upset.

“She rejected me,” Coulson said softly. “I told her I was her father and she… doesn’t want me.”

“She mentioned… something about not being able to hate you,” Steve said softly. “Even though you abandoned her.”

Agent May closed her eyes, looking upset. “Of course she thinks that,” she said in realization. “Phil, why wouldn’t she? She doesn’t know what happened. All she has is a redacted SHIELD file.”

“Yes,” Hill noted. “We just processed your report on that…”

“What did happen?” Natasha asked. “As far as I know you two have never even dated.”

May and Coulson exchanged an awkward glance. “We were just out of the academy, on our first mission,” Coulson explained. “It was an 0-8-4. I was holding the object, stumbles, and May grabbed me. Nine weeks later, May found out she was pregnant. The 0-8-4 was involved, but we never understood how.”

“We might not have been in a relationship,” May said softly. “But we didn’t want our child… we didn’t want Skye to pay for that. So Fury helped us cover it and I had... Alexandra Coulson and nine months after that she was …” May looked away, unable to talk about it. It was clear this wasn’t something May ever talked about.

“Alexandra Coulson went missing just before Christmas,” Fury continued. “One minute she was with her grandmother, the next she was gone. We never found out what happened. If Alexandra is Skye, then four months after she was kidnapped, Alexandra Coulson was found in a destroyed village by a SHIELD team,” Fury explained. “They labeled her a 0-8-4 and hid her in the New York foster system.”

“The only agent on the team who survived went into hiding, so no one at SHIELD ever knew.” Coulson said, clearly blaming himself. “Meanwhile, we remained hopeful…” Coulson said. “That someday her DNA would pop up on some system or another. We never thought… thousands of kids go missing each year. There was no reason to think that Skye was Alexandra.”

“We picked Skye up for hacking SHIELD,” May said. “On public WiFi. On a laptop she won in a bet.” May gave a very small, proud smile. Natasha felt a curl of dread grown in her gut. She knew from how scared Skye had seemed that there was something that she wasn’t telling them. Only time would tell if she ever would. 

“I still don’t understand. She risked everything to get into SHIELD so she could find her parents. She came looking for her parents just to yell at them?” Coulson asked.

“Anyone who’s ever had a parent leave wants to know why,” Maria said softly. Everyone looked curiously at Maria. Maria sighed. “My mom walked out on me and my dad as a kid. I’m… I can’t imagine how Skye feels. I hate my mom a little… and I understand why she left.”

“I shouldn’t have left her,” May said, her usual stoic mask crumbling as Coulson grabbed onto her. “This is all my fault.”

“I’m sure Skye won’t think that,” Coulson said reassuringly. “I’m sure she’d love you as a mother.” He turned to Fury. “Eventually I’m going to want to talk to you about your actions on the Helicarrier, but now isn’t the right time. I think we all… could use some time…”

“Director,” Natasha said. “I need you to make a call…”

\------

Skye woke up a while later and spotted Natasha sitting by her bed. “Is it wrong that I was hoping all that was some weird-ass post-surgery dream?” Skye asked softly. 

“Not wrong,” Natasha said. “Do you want me here?”

“Yeah,” Skye said softly. “You… that wasn’t the nightmare…”

“Would it be so bad?” came a new voice. Skye looked over and saw Clint Barton sitting in the corner. 

“Not…” Skye winced as she shifted in bed. “He works for SHIELD,” Skye said coldly. “The organization that took away any hope of a normal childhood.”

“You don’t know anything, do you?” Clint asked, not unkindly.

“I know people are right when they tell you never to meet your heroes,” Skye muttered.

“Clint,” Natasha said warningly.

Clint shrugged. “Sorry, but it’s the truth. I was there the day you were born.”

“You,” Skye said pointedly, eyebrows raised. “You were there the day I was born?”

“As your godfather, I believe Coulson made my presence mandatory,” Clint said.

Skye’s face contorted in rage. “You’re trying to sell me on that story again? That, what, my parents loved me and wanted me and never gave me up but I was either stolen or kidnapped or something? And months later for whatever reason I magically passed through SHIELD again and not a single person noticed? Get back to reality. They abandoned me. ”

“Yes,” Clint said. “That’s exactly what happened.”

“Do you hear yourself?” Skye asked. “Do you know how implausible that is? Do you realize that that sort of thing only happens in the movies? Orphans are orphans because their parents gave them up or are violent criminals or addicts or something. People don’t show up on orphans’ doorsteps and tell them they were wanted.”

“You were,” Clint said sorrowfully. “I know all of this sounds like a story, like something you’d want to believe but can’t. After you disappeared, we all looked for you… for months, years even. We never gave up hope that we’d find you alive. I don't know why you passed through SHIELD without anyone putting the pieces together, but know we intend to find out.”

“So that explains why I grew up alone?” Skye said, raw pain on her face. “I wasn't hiding. Why didn't anyone find me? Why did I spend almost a decade living on the street?” She inhaled quickly in automatic reaction to her crying, then winced and her hand went to her ribs. “Ow…”

“I know what it’s like to be alone,” Clint said, his tone softening and sitting in the chair opposite of Natasha. “I know what it’s like to be a… victim of a system that doesn’t care. I know it’s hard after all this time to believe that you were wanted. But I promise you I’ll do anything to prove to you that you were.”

Skye bit her lip, considering her options. “Who’s my mother?” she asked timidly.

“Melinda May,” Clint said instantly.

“Oh come on,” Skye objected, her walls instantly back up. “The ice queen? She hates me.”

“She lost her only daughter twenty years ago,” Clint responded. “She’s had a hard time letting people in since then… especially considering…”

“Considering what?” Skye snapped. 

“Considering that you two look a lot alike,” Clint noted bluntly. “Coulson says you act like she used to.”

“She probably hates the idea that I’m her daughter,” Skye said dejectedly. “I’m… everything that she’s against.”

“Your parents don’t give a damn,” Clint said bluntly. “We found you. That’s the only thing that matters.”

“If I had a dollar for every time someone told me that, I’d be richer than Stark,” Skye icily responded. “Want to know how that’s worked out for me so far?”

Clint sighed, clearly unsure how to move forward. “Would you want to talk to her?” Natasha posed. “I could stay with you and you could…”

Skye looked down at her hands. Given her proximity, Natasha could feel the doubt, fear, and nervousness within Skye. It wasn’t hard for Natasha to guess why. It was the ultimate risk for Skye. If her parents and her soulmate abandoned her like everyone else had, it might break her irreparably. “You know, when you were first born, Mel refused to let anyone else hold you. Not even Coulson,” Clint said, doubling down. “For days, your mom exhausted herself taking care of you, despite the fact that there was a half-dozen people there to help her out. But Mel refused to let anyone hold you. Because she couldn’t bare to let you go. I could show you a bunch of photos I have from back then. You’d barely recognize May - she was goofy-happy, no matter how tired she was. You’re all she ever wanted.”

Skye couldn’t help but think she wanted to believe in that. That she had been held in that way as a baby. That she had been loved. Finally, Skye nodded. “I want…. I’ll talk to her,” she said. “If… I mean, if she wants to.”

Clint nodded. “I’ll go get her,” he said. 

Natasha cuddled with Skye, and Skye was a little surprised how well Natasha could read her needs from her body language and facial expressions. May entered looking… decidedly un-May-like. Her eyes were red, like she'd been crying. 

Skye was unsure where to begin, so she finally landed on, “what… what’s my name? My real name?”

“We named you Alexandra,” May said, her voice shaking a little. “Alexandra, or Sandra, Genevieve Coulson. You were born in SHIELD medical July 2nd, 1988.”

“I was born here?” Skye asked, her eyebrows raised.

“You were,” May confirmed. “I was going to be based out of the Triskellion, so we were living in an apartment not far from here. When my water broke, your godmother insisted you be born here. Something about preserving the legacy of Steve Rogers.” May rolled her eyes. 

“My godmother was like AC?” Skye asked. 

May smirked. “Your godmother is Peggy Carter.”

Skye froze at that. “I… what do I say to that?” She asked the universe softly. 

“You should come up with something before Simmons sneaks in here. Give her a chance to be jealous for once.”

“Yeah,” Skye said quietly, clearly withdrawing into herself. An uncomfortable silence settled over them.

“Is there… anything else you want to know?” May asked quietly. 

Skye wanted to ask for her mother to hold her. Even just for a moment. So that no matter what, Skye could remember that her mother had held her at one point in her life. Skye wanted to ask, but she didn't know how. “I’m sorry I ran,” she finally said.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t find you,” May said back immediately.

“You really never gave up hope?” Skye asked.

Something seemed to break in May, because she rushed forward and grabbed Skye’s hand. “Not in this lifetime,” she said softly.

Unfortunately, Skye didn’t have much time to get used to the idea of having parents. A few short hours after May and Skye’s talk, Fury ordered Skye be pulled from the plane above Coulson’s and May’s serious objections. Skye looked conflicted at the news. She was so anxious about finding her parents that it seemed like she wasn’t even anxious about meeting Natasha. They hadn’t really even had time to process it yet. 

“She’s your daughter,” Fury explained shortly. “It goes against every policy in the book to place family together on a team.”

“Screw policy, Nick,” May snapped. “I just got my daughter back. There’s no way in hell I’m giving her up again.”

“It’s not forever,” Fury assured. “You’re welcome to come here when you don’t have a mission. Once Skye is cleared for duty, Agent Barton will take over her training.”

“Don’t we get a say in this?” Coulson objected.

“No,” Fury noted. 

“I’ll take care of her,” Natasha promised.

“You’re not cleared for duty yet, Coulson,” Fury said. “And I’m giving your team two days of down time before the doctors re-evaluates you to make sure you are.”

After the meeting, May and Coulson looked like they wanted to stay, but Skye wanted to spend a little time with Natasha alone. 

“So,” Skye hedged when the two of them were finally alone. “My soulmate’s an Avenger…”

Natasha gazed in admiration. “My soulmate’s this innocent, young…”

Skye snorted. “I’m not innocent,” she objected. “Not even close.”

“You’re 24!” Natasha pointed out. 

“I’ve been taking care of myself since I was ten,” Skye pointed out. “I supported myself by fifteen. I bought my own food. I bought my own van. No one… I know your childhood probably really sucked… but mine sucked too. I might be young… but I’m not innocent. I… no one’s ever loved me.” Natasha really looked at Skye and saw far more age in her eyes then she thought possible for a 24-year-old. She suddenly understood why Skye was so upset at finding her parents. It wasn’t just about her anger. May and Phil were going to be so upset when they realized that their only child had never been loved. Their only child who probably had to do a great many illegal things to survive. A child who’d had god only knew what done to her.

Natasha knew that she couldn’t walk away from Skye, even if Skye would be better off without her. If Natasha walked away, Skye would never trust anyone ever again. “I’ll love you,” Natasha murmured firmly, drawing Skye as close to her as possible. “I will always love you.”

Natasha could practically feel some of the tension leave as Skye started to cry. “I’m sorry,” Skye sobbed, sniffing. “This is a horrible way to react to meeting your soulmate.”

“It’s okay,” Natasha reassured, smiling. “I understand. I know most of this isn’t about me.”

“But it should be,” Skye sniffed. “This should be about us… we should be… They say when two soulmates meet it’s the best time of either of their lives. It shouldn’t be… tears and hospital rooms and…”

“When Clint met his soulmate, she threw a brick at him,” Natasha noted. Skye’s eyes widened. “They’ve been happily married for over twenty years. Meeting soulmates isn’t always like the movies simplify it. Please believe me when I tell you that I am happy and I understand that you can be happy about me and dealing with the emotions that come with finding your parents at the same time.”

“After… after all this is handled,” Skye started, then stopped.

Natasha put a hand into Skye’s and smiled. “We can go off somewhere by ourselves and celebrate us without anyone interrupting.”

Skye smiled. “I’d like that,” she admitted.

Suddenly, they both heard shouting coming from outside of her room. “No. I’m not doing it!” May shouted. “I’ll quit if I have to but you’re not separating me from her now. Not after I found her again. Not after…” Skye and Natasha could hear May sobbing. 

Skye was absolutely bewildered. May was stoic, quiet, and always seemed kind of sad to Skye. This seemed extremely out of character for the older woman. Was it possible that the reason why May had been so resistant to helping Skye find her family because she didn’t want to deal with the emotion of losing her own?

She felt for May, even though she couldn’t yet reconcile the idea that May was her biological mother. She just didn’t know quite how to deal with it.

It took a while, but an agreement was finally reached. Skye wasn’t ready to deal with both of her parents just yet, so May would be granted leave for two weeks while the team received a replacement agent named Bobbi Morse. It would give Skye the chance to adjust to the idea of her parents and give May the opportunity to get to know her daughter.

She received visits from both Ward and FitzSimmons before they left. Her doctors had promised her that she’d be released the next day, but Skye knew from experience that that wasn’t a guarantee. She certainly felt better and the surgical incision was a lot better. Natasha had scarcely left her side, and seemed to be content just to sit in a shared silence between the two of them, or watching a movie from Skye’s Netflix queue (both of them preferred Comedy). 

“Guess this is goodbye,” Ward said, looking a bit sad.

“Sprung a leak there, Robot?” Skye asked.

“Nah,” Ward backpedaled idly. “Fury put Agent Morse on the bus to replace Agent May for the time being. It’ll be good to get some decent sparring in.”

Skye flushed at the implication that she wasn’t enough of a challenge for him and looked down. “I just mean,” Ward stammered. “...I’ll miss you Rookie.”

Skye looked back up at Ward and smiled kindly. “I’ll miss you too Ward.”

“Try not to hack SHIELD while you’re here,” Ward warned. 

“I can’t make any promises,” Skye teased with a grin.

“Careful,” Ward warned playfully. “You’ve got parents now.”

Skye’s smile instantly dropped. “Yeah, well... “ she shrugged and Ward frowned at her change in demeanor, obviously feeling guilty at his words.

FitzSimmons’ goodbye was both similar and not to Ward’s. “Well this has been exciting,” Simmons noted. “You break a rib and find out that your parents are Agents May and Coulson and your soulmate is an Avenger! And Peggy Carter’s your godmother!!” Simmons actually sounded a bit… jealous. 

“They’re just people,” Skye pointed out, repeating what Natasha had noted about herself. “Nat wasn’t even supposed to be an Avenger.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that she is one now,” Simmons noted.

“I guess,” Skye agreed quietly.

“It’ll take some time to adjust,” Fitz noted. “But I have a feeling you’ll enjoy being a Coulson.”

“I’ll probably make a crappy one,” Skye muttered.

“Honestly, I don’t know why we didn’t think of it before,” Fitz noted,not hearing the comment. “You’re just like them.” Skye snorted. “I mean it. I could totally see you going toe to toe with Tony Stark the way Coulson’s done in the past, and didn’t you tell us that Coulson said that May was just like you when she was your age?”

“Yeah?” Skye noted hesitantly.

“It would be an interesting topic to explore,” Simmons thought. “Nurture vs. Nature and all of that. What is in your DNA that you have similar to your parents and what is due to your life experiences?”

“Maybe we could discuss it some other time,” Fitz suggested, noticing Skye’s discomfort regarding the topic. “You better not stay a stranger though,” Fitz noted.

Skye smiled weakly. “I won’t, as long as you keep me up to date on how the team is doing.”

“I promise,” Fitz agreed. “We both do.”

Coulson’s goodbye had been difficult, but not in the way Skye had imagined.

Skye didn’t really know what to say to him, so they sat in silence for five minutes. Finally, Coulson got up. “Look,” Coulson blurted out. “I wanted you to know you have my permission to hate me. I wasn’t there. I… get that.” Skye continued to look down at her blankets.

Coulson turned, his hand on the door when Skye found it in her to speak. “I… I don’t,” she stammered softly. Coulson froze. “I want to so badly. I want to hate you so badly that it hurts not to. But… I can’t.”

Coulson took his hand off the door and turned back to her. “Why not?” he asked curiously. He said this like he was almost encouraging her to hate him.

Skye looked heavenward, trying not to cry. “When I was ten I… the man there told me that I was a useless, brainless lump that would never amount to anything, and it was no wonder my parents abandoned me. That they were happier without me burdening them. It wasn’t the first… or last… time I’d heard something like that but that time… it’s the one that always stuck with me.” She locked eyes with Coulson, welling up with tears. “You weren’t there. Not to defend me from the man three times my size who twisted my arm so hard it broke. Not to stay up with me when I was sick, so instead I had to clean up vomit on my own before I was punished for making a mess. Not to protect me from the monsters…” she couldn’t finish that sentence, so moved on. “You weren’t there, and I hated you for it. And then I met you and you were….” Coulson was still standing, waiting for her to finish, the pain of missing so much of his daughter’s life etched on his face. 

“You were perfect.” Skye breathed at last. Coulson’s eyebrows raised. “I thought that maybe, just maybe… if my own father didn’t want me, you could be almost as good. That maybe you’d love me. That maybe everything that happened to me before I met you wouldn’t matter.”

Coulson very carefully approached her. “May I?” he asked cautiously, indicating he was going to hug her. 

Skye nodded. She expected one of his normal, short hugs he sometimes gave her. Instead, Coulson wrapped her carefully up in his arms as if she were four rather than twenty-four. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” he said softly. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.” Coulson was crying, Skye knew, and didn’t know what to do with that information. Coulson had always seemed so strong and to have him crying on her… 

Skye hugged him back, not as intensely or as long. It all felt backwards. Just a few days ago Skye had rescued Coulson and was sobbing in his arms as he hugged her gently. The idea of losing the first father figure in her life that was worth a damn had been horrifying. Now that she knew that that had been her actual father… she didn’t know quite what to do with that.

Finally, Coulson broke contact. “I promise you. I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe for the rest of my life,” he said.

“I think Natasha would agree with you on that,” Skye said, giving Coulson a very small smile. 

The true awkwardness of the situation didn’t really hit Skye until she was released from medical. She and May had been assigned temporary quarters in a double room. 

They sat in silence, neither really knowing what to say. Skye had about a thousand questions, and wasn’t completely sure she wanted to have any of them answered. All her life, she’d planned to find her parents and explain to them in great detail how awful her life had been, but now that she knew the truth, she didn’t know if she could bare to watch the looks on their faces as they learned the truth about her.

May seemed to take Skye’s fear and hesitation in stride though. The evening that Skye was released from medical, May brought a box to their room and placed it on Skye’s bed. 

Skye opened it and was shocked to see dozens of photos inside. There were a lot of photos of May or Coulson holding a baby, she presumed her, looking awed. One particularly cute one that Skye held up to silently ask May about was one where a baby was teething on a very short arrow. 

May rolled her eyes. “Your godfather,” she explained, “is an idiot and doesn’t understand that arrows aren’t for babies.”

“He wanted to teach me archery?” Skye asked.

May snorted. “Barton had you training for the Olympics before you could walk,” she said chuckling. “You could only grip it.” Skye flipped to the next photo and saw her gripping a small bow. 

It was a little strange to see this other side to May. Something had drastically changed, and it took a couple days for Skye to realize that the difference was that this May… she had hope. May had more than just pictures too. Skye couldn’t help but playing the video of her crawling for the first time over and over. Coulson apparently had been glued to a camcorder while she was with her parents. There were hours of her babbling and trying sounds out. There were videos of her being cuddled, playing with toys. She'd loved them and had been loved. The video clip of her very first words ever had been emotional to see. 

May was holding the camera as Coulson was obviously coming home from a mission. The man looked exhausted, but Skye had been over the moon to see the man she recognized as her father. She had apparently gurgled and squealed from her spot on the floor surrounded by stuffed animals and blocks, raising her arms indicating quite plainly she wanted to be picked up.

Coulson sighed and greeted Melinda first, which apparently Skye had been none too pleased with. “Dadadadadadada,” Baby Skye had said demandingly. 

Grown up Skye had teared up at the way Coulson’s face had changed. Natasha had watched the video with Skye and had wrapped her up to cuddle and comfort her. The truth of the matter was that Skye had been wanted. Loved. And no matter what had happened during the months that were still unaccounted for, that counted for a lot in Skye’s mind. She just wasn’t totally sure how to say it.

\--------

Eventually, May returned to the Bus and Skye moved in with Natasha. Her days were filled with getting to know her soulmate, edging closer and closer to bonding, and training with Clint. Clint sometimes criticized Ward for the quality of Skye’s initial training, but Skye didn’t think much of it - after all, Clint was her godfather. He seemed extremely protective of her.

Meanwhile, Skye had been stationed at the Triskellion’s Comms Center. It was just a few weeks later that everything went to hell. Faster than she could blink, her world turned upside-down yet again. With Natasha and Steve wanted and Fury dead, Clint hadn’t wanted her to go in, but Skye wanted to do her part. So she went in and kept an eye on the Bus while simultaneously trying to find and help Nat and Steve.

That’s when HYDRA came out of the woodwork and everything went to hell. Skye couldn’t help but but be a little proud of her fellow Comms Agent Cameron when he didn’t even flinch when Rumlow leveled a gun at him. Skye was typing as furiously as she could, simultaneously trying to override the Bus’ autopilot and stop Project Insight’s launch sequence.

“Grab her,” she heard Rumlow barked. “With me.”

Skye was grabbed by the waist as she continued typing, struggling to hang on to the keyboard so that she could do her part. The keyboard was pulled away from her and she struggled against Rollins’ grip. She tried every counter she knew, but couldn’t break the hold.

Rumlow, who was in front of them, suddenly growled and pivoted, shoving a gun in Skye’s face. “Keep on misbehaving and you’ll eat a bullet. I don’t care whose kid you are.”

Skye spat in Rumlow’s face, defiant. “You’re a Nazi,” she growled. “People will see that. People will stand against that.”

Rumlow wiped the saliva off his face then took two steps towards her so when he crouched down he was nose to nose with her. “You have no idea the plans that HYDRA has for you. He’s a truly sick individual. I mean disgusting. I might let you have him one. But I can’t wait to break the daughter of the Cavalry and take back what was mine.”

“Don’t call her that,” Skye objected, struggles to fight against Rollins’ grip renewed. She ignored the rest. Couldn’t think about it. Good couldn't just lose. For a second, she broke free and landed a solid punch to Rumlow’s face. The man howled in pain and surprise as blood poured from his face. Skye kicked Rollins in the balls, took Rumlow’s gun, and barrelled down the corridor. 

She had just arrived at the elevator when the door opened and out stepped Pierce. He grabbed her by her hair and disarmed her. “Well, well, well,” Pierce said. “What do we have here?”

\---------

She was being forced to kneel at gunpoint in Pierce’s office when the other members of the World Security Council stepped in. The woman, whose name Skye could never remember, faltered for a moment at the sight of Skye.

Skye knew she probably looked horrible. While Pierce was down retrieving the WSO, Rumlow and Rollins had each taken a turn beating her while she was restrained and couldn’t defend herself. Payback for the damage she’d done to them.

“SHIELD will win, you know,” she said, slurring and drooling slightly from her swollen face. “There will always be people stepping up to go against you. You’re… just a big bunch of Nazis.”

“This, lady and gentlemen, is what we do with citizens who hack our databases and try to stop us from keeping the world safer.” Pierce announced. “She found out about our Super Soldier program and no matter what we threw at her, she refused to let it go. She thinks the public has a right to know SHIELD’s deepest secrets.”

“What are you doing?” one of the council members cried. “If this woman has broken the law, why isn’t she in custody? Why isn’t she standing trial?”

Pierce smiled dangerously. “She was resisting arrest. The world order has changed. I suggest you make your peace with that. Unless, of course, you’d like to join her.” Pierce grabbed her hair and the woman council member flinched. Skye felt Natasha’s worry through the bond and put the pieces together. She glared at Pierce. “I can take it,” she reassured her soulmate. “I can take it.”

Pierce laughed at her. “Is that right? You can take it? We did our homework on you, and I can see you speak from experience? Do Mommy and Daddy know?” Skye didn’t outwardly react, but internally winced. She had avoided telling her parents how many homes she'd become a human shield in, protecting the younger kids from abusive parents by directing their attention to her. 

Pierce turned to the council member. “Let me ask you a question. What if Pakistan marched into Mumbai tomorrow, and you knew that they were gonna drag your daughters into a soccer stadium for execution? What if you could stop it? Just by flicking a switch?”

“Not if it was this kind of switch,” the council member breathed, still staring at Skye.

Pierce was handed a gun from somewhere, and pointed it at the council member. Natasha leapt to action, kicking the gun away and removing her disguise. Pierce immediately dragged Skye to her feet and used her as a human shield. 

Skye elbowed Pierce in the gut and was able to stumble away when Pierce released her. “You touch my soulmate again and it’ll be the last thing you do,” Natasha said, untying Skye. Skye hissed as blood flow was returned to her arms. Natasha dragged Skye over the console where Natasha started hacking while Skye tried her best to return circulation to her arms. 

“What are you doing?” another council member asked Natasha.

“Here, let me,” Skye slurred.

“You sure?” Natasha asked. Skye’s hands were still shaking. She swayed and gripped the board before regaining her equilibrium.

Skye nodded hastily. “I’m good.” Natasha moved aside and Skye started hacking. 

“I’m sending all the information to my contacts on the DarkNet,” Skye said. “Th-they’ll make sure all of SHIELD’s… all of HYDRA’s secrets go viral.”

“Are you really sure you’ll be able to hold your head up when the world sees you for who you really are?” Pierce asked. “What will your parents say, I wonder, when they learn what you’ve become.”

Skye went white, then paused momentarily, the forged ahead wordlessly. HYDRA was everything she stood against. HYDRA was everything she hated. And if it cost her her tentative relationship with her parents to reveal the truth to the world, it would be worth it.

She watched the chaos as Nick Fury arrived in a helicopter and helped them release everything onto the Internet. She felt the sudden surge of panic and then pain as the shock ran through Natasha’s body. 

“Nat!” she cried. 

It took a couple breaths for Skye to recover. Fury shot Pierce and within moments, it was all over. The helicarriers were crashing down around them and Natasha was half-dragging Skye into Fury’s helicopter.

They caught the guy helping Steve and Nat and he stared as Natasha tended to her soulmate. “I’m fine,” Skye slurred as Natasha first started inspecting Skye’s wounds. “You’re here…. You’re here. I’m fine.”

“I think Rumlow might have broken your ribs,” Natasha said sadly. “Not to mention the number they did on your beautiful face.”

Skye smiled, raising a shaking hand up to Natasha’s cheek. “I was so worried…” she said quietly.

“Did they question you? About where I was?” Natasha asked. Skye knew what she meant.

“No. It was before HYDRA actually came out. Maria questioned me and I didn’t know where you were,” Skye said. She looked away from her soulmate. She remembered what Rumlow said. Someone had had plans for her within HYDRA, and from the sounds of things… “This was… uh… Rumlow didn’t like being called a Nazi.” She felt the cold hard pit of fear form in her stomach. “But you’re here and we’re safe and that’s all that matters.”

“I can drop you off,” Fury said, looking a bit awkward. “But I have somewhere I need to be.”

Skye flinched as Natasha hit a particularly tender spot. “Where… uh… where are my mom and dad?” she asked timidly.

“Taking down the head of Centipede,” Fury said. “I sent them to one of my hidden bases, but they had to take care of something else first.”

Instantly, Skye’s desire to talk to them overrode her logic to get medical attention. “Where’d you send them,” Skye demanded from Fury.

“I can take you to them,” Fury said. “They’re taking on Cybertek. I’m headed there now.”

“Skye you need medical attention…” Natasha argued.

“No, I need to see them. I need them to know… I wasn’t angry,” Skye said crying. “I wasn’t angry at them, I was angry at myself. They need to know I don’t hate them. They need to know…” she looked up at Natasha. “I love them… and I love you. I don’t want to go another day without them knowing that.” Finally, Natasha nodded, conceding. 

Skye slept on the flight. Waking up was harder than being beaten up the first time, the adrenaline of the past few days wearing off and no pain medication in her system.

“Skye, we’re going in,” Natasha said, pressing a handgun into her hands. “I need you to stay here.”

“Be careful out there,” Skye requested, undoing the safety on her gun.

“Stay here until we can find your parents. You can’t possibly be cleared for combat,” Natasha said.

Natasha and Fury left. A few moments later, Skye saw Ward and May in a room with huge windows, almost at the top of the building. No one in sight, Skye decided to make a beeline for them. Her team would protect her.

“Ward!” Skye called when she got to the room, spotting her friend. She rushed to him.

“Skye!” Ward said, surprised. “What are you doing here?” 

“I came… you know, to help out the team,” Skye said, eyebrows drawn inward.

“Step away from her Ward,” May said warningly. Skye saw a flash of something as her mother spotted her injuries.

“Oh, I don’t think I will,” Ward said, shoving Skye in front of him like a shield. Skye tensed, suddenly connecting who Rumlow had been referring to. Ward gripped her wrist so tightly that Skye fought not to cry out, refusing to give him the satisfaction. The gun she was holding clattered to the ground. 

“Ward, what are you doing?” Skye asked, her voice shaking more out of pain than anything. “This is HYDRA, Ward. This can’t be what you want.”

Ward’s laugh was cold and heartless. “You know. No one in my life has ever given a damn what I want. Not my family. Not Garrett. Not SHIELD. Not HYDRA. They’re all after what they want. And I was fine playing their little foot soldier, until I met you. You changed me, Skye. You woke up something inside of me.” Skye broke out of Ward’s hold but Ward grabbed her hair, then ducked behind her. She glanced over at May whose gun was drawn. She looked murderous. “You made me realize that if I wanted something, I was just going to have to take it.”

Rumlow’s words, coupled with where Ward’s hands were gave her a very clear idea of what Ward wanted. She tried to stomp on his foot, but he shifted, and she missed. He kicked hard at her knee and she felt something snap. He dragged her upwards so she was forced to stand on it. 

“We’re going to leave,” Ward said to May, his hand gripping the back of Skye’s neck tightly. She cried out without meaning to. She tried elbowing him, but he dodged it too. Her head was swimming. She couldn’t tell if it was the after-effects of the Triskellion or what Ward was doing. 

Suddenly, a crack rang out in the room and people screamed. It took Skye a minute to realize she was lying on the ground. There was something warm and sticky next to her. There was copper in the air. That meant something, but Skye couldn’t remember what. 

“Skye,” May said, rushing over. She repeated Skye’s name when Skye didn’t answer.

“‘M cold,” Skye said slowly.

“Was she hit?” asked a beautiful blonde standing nearby. 

“Not by me,” May said. May started running her hands over Skye’s body, checking for wounds. “Go deal with Incentives. I’ve got this.”

“Love you, Mama,” Skye said, remembering her words to her soulmate. May gasped very slightly, looking…

Skye started to close her eyes. But May pinched her. “You need to stay awake baby. I think you’re in shock.”

“Where’s Ward?” Skye asked. He had been there. She remembered that.

“Don’t look Skye,” May said. “I did what I needed to so that I could protect you.”

“They beat me,” Skye said softly. “I called them Nazis so they beat me.”

“Who beat you?” May asked. She clearly disliked this discussion.

“Rumlow and Rollins. Told me… told me he was gonna break me. Didn’t know… can’t break what’s already broken.”

“Shh… you’re not broken, Skye. You’re so strong.”

“‘M Ironman?” she slurred, giggling a little. She felt weird. 

May was stroking her hair. “Oh no, Skye. I think you’re stronger than Stark. Smarter, too.”

“Stronger…” Skye said softly. 

“Skye!” came a cry. Male voice. Coulson came rushing over, sliding in next to her. “God, Melinda, is she hurt?”

“Dad?” Skye asked, trying to confirm he was real. She reached out her hand to him. Coulson looked floored as he grabbed her hand with both of his. 

“Just in shock, I think,” Melinda said.

“Needed to tell you I loved you…” Skye whispered.

“Melinda, she’s covered in…” he paled as he looked past Skye. “What the hell?”

Skye frowned. She was covered in something? She looked down and saw red all around her. Panicked, she followed her father’s gaze and saw Ward’s body, his smug grin and dead eyes locked straight forward. Her stomach seized up and she was suddenly throwing up her lunch. Hands were turning her on her side. That’s when everything went black.

When she came to, everything hurt. She was fairly sure her hair hurt. She groaned, unable to move, and Simmons suddenly came into view, looking worried. “Hey Skye,” Jemma said, looking subdued.

“Team okay?” 

Simmons burst into tears, causing Skye to worry. “Who… who’s dead?” she asked, fear growing inside her.

“You idiot. You had to put yourself in danger like that not once but twice?” Simmons chastised her. “Ward could have killed you.” Skye didn’t know what to say to that. Simmons kept ranting about being called over when Skye passed out and having to deal with Coulson and May standing over Skye’s unconscious form. “You looked dead, Skye, with all that blood on you,” Simmons continued. Skye watched as Simmons rambled about other things and puttered around the lab of… wherever they were.

“Where… uh…. Where is everyone?” Skye asked.

“The Avengers are in some big meeting with Fury and Coulson,” Simmons said. “May went to go sleep about an hour ago after staying up with you.”

“Staying up?” Skye asked, feeling dumb.

“Skye, it’s been three days since Cybertek,” Simmons said gently. That sent a panic through Skye’s entire body. 

“What?” Skye asked shakily. She could hear the steady background beeping that was getting on just this side of annoying increase.

“It’s okay,” Simmons said. “It’s perfectly normal for someone in your condition.”

What sort of condition was she in? Even at her worst in foster homes, she’d never been unconscious for days. Suddenly, the fact that she couldn’t move mattered. “What happened?” What’s wrong?” she demanded. The beeping was at a rapid pace now. Skye found herself having trouble breathing. Suddenly, May burst in from some room down the hall. Natasha burst in from the other end of the lab. 

May reached Skye first. “Shhh… shhhhh…. You’re okay. You’re okay,” May murmured. Skye had a bittersweet image of May telling her this as a child the first time she’d fallen off a bike learning to ride. Skye found she was crying but didn't know why.

Natasha had at some point gotten up behind Skye in her bed and was stroking her hair. Between her soulmate and her mother, Skye calmed down. Coulson and the other Avengers were standing a little awkwardly in the doorway to the lab. Coulson stepped forward, giving Simmons’ shoulder a reassuring squeeze before he approached his daughter. Skye was startled by how scared Simmons looked. 

“Hey Skye,” Coulson said calmly. “You okay?”

“Am I… am I paralyzed?” Skye said, expecting the worst.

“What?” May asked. “No, Skye, you’re not paralyzed.”

“But I can’t move,” Skye noted. “I can’t…”

“Ward dislocated your knee and broke your wrist,” Coulson said evenly. “Your other wrist is in a restraint because you, once again, kept trying to pull out your IV and you actually succeeded with a broken wrist on your good arm which is why we moved it. You also have a herniated disc in your neck that will need surgery, so your neck will be in that cervical collar for a while.”

“Can you feel this?” Jemma asked something sharp poked at the heels of both her feet.

“What is that?” Skye asked. Natasha was still stroking her hair. 

“A pin. It’s how we test for paraplegia. You feel it in both feet?” Simmons asked. 

“Yeah,” Skye said, relaxing now that she knew no serious damage had been done.

“Hey,” Natasha said with a smile.

“Hey,” Skye said softly.

“I thought I told you to wait on the plane,” Nat said, looking uncharacteristically bothered.

“Sorry,” Skye said, already drooping slightly. “I wanted to help the team. Wanted to… live up to my name.” Her tone made it clear what she actually meant. Her team was her family, and she wanted to live up to being a May and a Coulson.

“You already do, Skye,” May said softly. “You already do.”

“You should get some more rest,” Coulson noted. “You look tired.”

Natasha’s hand found its way into Skye’s hair. “I’m gonna stay here,” she said softly.

Skye closed her eyes and she heard someone make a pained noise. It sounded like Stark. “Let’s go back to the meeting,” she heard Steve say. “We have more to discuss with you Coulson.”

She heard the others file out, and she finally drifted off, sure that she had family that would protect her.

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while since I posted anything. I *have* been writing. I just haven't been in the mood to post. So here we go!


End file.
